


AU Bin

by swiftishere



Series: MSA One-Shots [1]
Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: AU (various), Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Platonic Cuddling, individual ch's will be tagged in the notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:25:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 13,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftishere/pseuds/swiftishere
Summary: A small collection of short AU drabbles, maybe a few hundred words each. Some of them might get expanded in the future but don't count on it. A full table of contents can be found in Chapter 1.(If you'd like to request something of your own, feel free to comment or shoot me an ask on tumblr! there's a link in my profile.)Latest update: Sci-fi Vithur.
Relationships: Arthur & Lewis (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur & Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur/Lewis (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Lewis & Vivi & Mystery (Mystery Skulls Animated), Lewis & Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: MSA One-Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1440190
Comments: 53
Kudos: 90





	1. i. contents

1\. [Cold Case](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/55512191) (485 words)- sorta fluffy / H/C. Arthur and Vivi are homicide detectives, Arthur's also a medium. 

2\. [Catch your Breath](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/55512239#workskin) (176 words)- short, kinda sweet, vaguely Vithur, set in an uhh it's complicated Sci-Fi/Fantasy style world (written for a prompt)

3\. [(not quite) Full Moon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/55512363#workskin) (308 words)- short n' sappy Vivi & Arthur cuddles- Arthur's a werewolf and in this universe, the shift between human and wolf is a gradual one over a few days around the full moon. (written for a prompt)

4\. [Power Trip](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/55559461#workskin) (559 words)- Superhero AU, Vivi and Lewis are ordinarily damage-control/disaster relief heroes, but recent circumstances mean they're being sent to capture a supervillain in a one-on-one (well, two-on-one) fight. 

5\. [ Power Trip pt. 2](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/55596811#workskin) (2203 words)- Contd. from the last chapter, the actual fight with the Wraith, and Mystery enters the scene. Things end up going sideways - mild warning for violence.

6\. [God Called and You're Both Fired](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/55603102) (421 words)- Arthur and Lewis, an angel and a demon, are both posing as high schoolers in an attempt to sway Vivi to their own respective side. It's very inconvenient for both of them to have the other here. (written for a prompt)

7\. [ Power Trip pt. 3](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/55696510) (724 words)- Contd. from pt. 2, a regrouping back at base and some new facts about the Wraith are uncovered. After a short meeting with the overseer, Vivi and Lewis turn their attention to planning their next attack.

8\. [End of Day Quiet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/56102644) (1335 words)- A sci-fi AU on paper but honestly the futuristic aspects don't figure into it all that much. Arthur and Lewis both work on this future's version of a racetrack, and despite being coworkers for quite a while now, they don't... exactly get along. Lewis would like to change that. 

9\. [God Called pt. 2](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/56494543) (1010 words)- Contd. from pt. 1, Lewis and Arthur have a... I _guess_ you could call it a confrontation? Argument, maybe? Conversation? They talk and they're not very good at it. 

10\. [Asaya and Beyond](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/56746624) (1924 words)- Sci-fi/space travel AU, Vivi and Lewis are space travelers on a ship under the control of Mystery, the AI. They're forced to stop at the Asaya outpost, where they meet Arthur, who seems like a normal mechanic at first glance but quickly turns out to be someone else entirely. (written for a prompt) 

11\. [The Seer](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/56747092) (1229 words)- Fantasy-ish AU. Lewis goes to visit a tower in the middle of the forest, despite advice to the contrary, and properly meets the young seer living there.

12\. [A Royal Inconvenience](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/58863964) (2066 words)- Fantasy AU but don't go expecting any magic. Arthur's a prince who gets kidnapped by Lewis and Vivi and is, uh, a lot less concerned about it than he should be it seems like. [Warning for implied/referenced abuse]

13\. [I Feel Like I Don't Say it Enough](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190123/chapters/63718228) (684 words)- Sci-fi AU, Vivi stops one night to think about things while she and Arthur chase her lost memories. (written for a prompt)


	2. Cold Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and Vivi are a duo of detectives, called in on a particularly challenging murder case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [source post](https://nemesis-is-my-middle-name.tumblr.com/post/190784231213/au-where-lewis-is-a-ghost-that-died-in-a-tragic)

“Maybe we should… let this one go,” says Vivi, focusing intently on her coffee instead of the man across from her. 

“Let- _what_?” She can’t see Arthur’s face, but the surprise is evident in his voice. “But we’re- we’re _close_! I _know_ we are!” 

“I know,” (she doesn’t, she’s only taking him on faith that he’s made some progress with the ghost, for all she knows they’re still at square one) “but- I just think…” and she finally looks up, properly looks Arthur in the eye. Immediately he looks away, but she doesn’t need him to face her to see what she’s looking for. He’s _exhausted_ , has been for a while now. Drained from days of barely sleeping as this ghost relentlessly bombards him with visions and fragmented messages. 

Every case they get, they have to reassess how hard it’s going to be on him, how strong and clear the lingering victim is and how long it’s going to take to get a proper answer out of them. Sometimes it’s easy, the rare occasions where whole sentences make it through and he can just recite a name and method of murder. Other times, the spirit is barely hanging on to this world and they have to piece together vague images and words into something resembling a conclusion. 

This has turned out to be one of the latter ones, and the worst part is, the victim’s word is all they have to go on. Whoever committed this murder was damn thorough in their cleanup, and were it not for the soul hanging on after death it’d have long been declared a cold case. So effectively, without being able to analyze mundane evidence, she’s useless until Arthur gives her something to work off of. 

She doesn’t like giving up, and she knows he doesn’t either, but she’s also not about to sacrifice her partner’s sanity for one case. 

“I just think this is above our pay grade,” she says finally, not really sure how to put all her thoughts into words. “I mean, anyone else would have abandoned this thing weeks ago.” 

Arthur seems to understand what she’s trying to say - of course he does, how long have they been working together for? They’ve long gotten used to interpreting each other - and he sighs, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t… I don’t think I can do that. Give up. It’s…” he rubs his face with his hand. “You can’t _hear_ him. He’s so _alone_ , trapped in that fucking in-between place, and he’s been fighting _so hard_ just to be _heard_. Because- whatever did this? Is still out there, and he doesn’t… he doesn’t want to just let that go, not when this could happen again. And neither do I.” 

She still frowns. “I know, but… are you sure _you’re_ going to be okay?” 

He offers her a weak smile. “Yeah. I’m used to this.”


	3. Catch Your Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vivi ends up stopping by a cabin in the deep and twisted forest, during a long trek away from her home city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for bloopinblop on tumblr.

“You don’t have to do this, really,” Vivi was saying, fiddling awkwardly with the cuff of her jacket, “I know it’s not the best but it’s in perfect working order and I can get it fixed once we get back to the City, there’s no need for- uh,” she turned her head slightly to the side, calling to Lewis in the next room. “Can he hear me?”

Arthur’s head jerked up suddenly, and he turned away from the vehicle he had been intently repairing. “Yes- I- s-sorry, I just, uh- d-didn’t think you. Wanted me to r-respond?” He paused, and then gave her a bright smile. “I- I really don’t mind, th-this is really advanced and I- I can’t remember the, the last time I got to the- got to tinker with something th-this nice.”

Vivi blinked, her breath suddenly stuck in her throat. Man, she’d been braving monsters and hostile plant life this whole trip, how come she abruptly crashed at the sight of some dude smiling at her? “Oh. I guess. That’s fine then.” 


	4. (Not Quite) Full Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's a werewolf! Vivi is his friend! That's about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for a prompt from bloopinblop on tumblr

“Arthur, uh-” Vivi wasn’t exactly pinned to the ground, but Arthur had an arm looped around her chest and was snuggled up so close to her side that she wasn’t too interested in moving, either. “Not that I’m complaining but, uh, is everything okay?” _You normally aren’t quite this cuddly_ , she added in her head, not sure if that was rude or not. 

Arthur lifted his hand to pat the general area of her mouth, seemingly in an attempt to shush her. “Mmh,” was his vague response, and he half lifted his head to squint at her - and that’s when she properly saw his eyes. They were even brighter than normal, and were ringed in black- oh. Like a wolf’s. 

Right, it was getting close to the full moon. Usually around the time Arthur liked to go… hide himself away, sort of, for a few days. She hadn’t been thinking when she decided to drop by, but normally around this time he just told her to go away. Definitely not… uh, whatever this was. 

But then he was tucking his head under her arm again and she was _definitely_ not about to ask and potentially make him stop. 

(Later, when she brought it up a few days after the full moon, he’d explain mostly mumbling into his collar that around the full moon the wolf brain started to take over a little, and most of the time that meant hiding but _sometimes_ see if he _really_ liked someone he would just want to cuddle up to them for as long as possible. And outwardly Vivi had sort of laughed and waved her hand, telling him not to worry about it, but she had a goofy grin on her face for a _really_ long time afterwards, thinking how she’d gotten close enough to Arthur for that.)


	5. Power Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A pair of superheroes specializing in disaster and damage control get called in on a job that is... _significantly_ out of their normal field.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one has art! for arthur! over [here](https://nemesis-is-my-middle-name.tumblr.com/post/612910761668378624/your-target-said-the-director-sliding-a-file)!

“Your target,” said the director, sliding a file across the table to them, “has no official name, but we’ve taken to calling him the Wraith. Ordinarily I wouldn’t ask this of you - I know one-on-one combat isn’t technically your team’s wheelhouse - but. Well, you might be the best people for the job.”

Vivi leaned on Lewis’s shoulder to look over the file with him. It was mostly technical nonsense she couldn’t decipher at a glance, but she got the gist of the incident logs just fine. “What do you want us to do?”

“The Wraith is exceptionally powerful and incredibly dangerous. He also seems to be solely intent on doing as much damage to us as possible. Everything he’s targeted has been something we’re actively using. So far the locations he’s targeted have been remote and there’ve been no civilian deaths, but it’s only a matter of time. We’ve already nearly lost a few other heroes.”

“So what makes him so dangerous?” Lewis put down the file. “And, uh, why are we the best equipped to handle this?” He hadn’t heard much, but he already knew he wanted nothing to do with anything like this.

That actually solicited a laugh from the overseer. “Where to start? The Wraith has telekinesis, he can fly, can _teleport_ , and he’s got some sort of kinetic control over this… black mist. He can compel it to solidify and evaporate as he wishes and can cause _massive_ damage with it. The real kicker- from what we’ve seen, every hit he takes only makes those powers stronger. We think he must have some sort of healing factor, too. He’s taken hits that would be lethal to any person and was back in a few days.” The overseer tapped his pen on the desk. “Put simply, none of our regular heroes can keep up with him. We… did actually have one death. You heard about that accident the Breaker was in?”

“Yep.” Lewis shuddered. He’d seen the photo the news got. “Was- that wasn’t an accident?”

He just nodded. “That entire thing was his doing. He brought down that whole facility, and killed one of our best heroes, in under an hour.”

“Again,” this time it was Vivi who asked the question, “how exactly are we going to help here?”

“Your team specializes in damage control. Given the… _unique_ problem posed here, you may be more effective than someone trying to face him head-on.”

Vivi was starting to pick up on his plan. “We bait him into a trap. Don’t strike unless we can guarantee a capture.”

“ _Precisely_.”

“And then we- what,” Lewis interjected, “bring him back here? Isn’t that _also_ dangerous?”

“We’ll have a team ready to properly restrain him.”

Vivi looked up and down between him and the folder a few times.

“So how much, exactly, are you gonna pay us for this?” she asked finally.

_“Vivi!”_

The overseer just laughed again. “No, no, it’s a fair question. We’re asking a lot of you, I know. I promise you’ll be amply rewarded for your services. And you’ll get a high-level threat off the board, saving who knows how many lives.”

Lewis sighed, and he and Vivi exchanged a look.

“I’m up for it if you are,” Vivi said with a shrug.

After a while longer, Lewis nodded back. “I guess we’re in.”


	6. Power Trip pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Warning for (non-graphic) violence and breaking bones - this is a superhero fight, y'all know what that entails.) 
> 
> Vivi and Lewis go out to track down the Wraith, a dangerous supervillain they've been tasked with capturing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's back! yes there will probably be a ch3. no i will not move this to its own fic.

"Well, _somebody_ 's up late. Are we looking for someone?" 

The sudden voice made both Vivi and Lewis whip around. Its source was, evidently, someone perched on top of the roof of the warehouse, crouched with their arms resting on their knees. The only features they could make out from this distance were glowing green dots around where the stranger's head should be. 

"Wraith," Vivi spat. "I think _you_ came looking for _us_." 

A laugh echoed through the deserted streets, bouncing off the surrounding walls. "Well, I knew they'd send _someone_ out here." He leaned forward, putting one hand down on the rooftop. "Tell you what. Leave now, and we don't have to fight. I'll let you go freely." 

"Like we'd ever let you off," Vivi snarled, drawing her sword. "Come down here and _fight us!"_

There were no more quips. The Wraith stood to his full height, and they could both clearly see him shrug before he dove off the roof, going into freefall towards the concrete. 

Vivi heard a sound to her left, and looked up to see... something like a hole in space. Dark and suspended in midair. 

- _can teleport_ , she vaguely remembered the overseer saying, and then something smashed into her side and she was suddenly weightless. 

The impact knocked the wind out of her for a good few seconds. Looking back upside-down, she watched the Wraith, crouched on the ground in front of her, shake the impact out of his arms. 

Lewis, still on his feet, watched the scene play out as he tried to remember Vivi's plan. This wasn't part of it, but maybe he could still salvage something. 

"You should _really stand still_ ," he started, letting his power creep into his voice. " _You're just going to wear yourself out_." 

The Wraith looked up. There was a beat. 

A sickle-cut smile crept across his face. 

And then he started to laugh. As he stood up again, the dark air seemed to... coalesce around him. "Holy fuck, don't tell me _that's_ your power? Are you fucking _serious_ right now?" Something with the vague shape and look of tar seemed to loop around his shoulders now. He held up one hand and then it was _moving_. "Man, they _are_ getting desperate." 

Lewis added _immune to charming_ to his running mental list of things the Wraith could do, and then had to very quickly duck back as the rope of tar cut uncomfortably close to his face. 

Vivi couldn't seem to move. At first she'd just been pausing and trying to breathe, but now- it was like she was _stuck_ to the ground. This _had_ to be more of the Wraith's doing - maybe telekinesis, or some of that "mist" the overseer had mentioned. 

Well, just because she couldn't move, that didn't mean she was weaponless. She splayed her fingers and dug them into the ground, and focused on calling forth an ally. 

Lewis and the Wraith both paused their combat dance to watch as something shimmered into existence. A red-and-white _massive_ fox made of light- 

Lewis recognized Vivi's handiwork before the Wraith knew what was going on, and decided to use the opportunity to summon forth a few of his own spirits. The deadbeat, little more than fire catching from the air, sparked into existence much quicker than Mystery could, and three or four were darting forth in an instant. Their main goal was to distract and confuse, of course, but _the Wraith_ didn't know that. The three got his attention away from the manifesting fox, swirling around his head, cutting close but never quite actually touching him. 

And then Mystery's seven tails swished out behind him, and he was properly joining the fight. 

The Wraith was doing his best to duck away from the sudden wisps, but couldn't manage to do anything. After almost being backed up to a wall, he finally gave a huff of annoyance, and suddenly raised his fist up to his chest. A ring of ichor manifested around his head, quickly widening and forcing the deadbeats back. 

Vivi noticed she could move her limbs again, and elected not to waste the opportunity. She rolled to her feet, picking her sword back up on her way, and needed only a moment to take stock of the scene. 

The deadbeats were keeping more of a distance now, wary of the droplets of ichor that seemed to hang in the air, reflecting green light back from their pink glow. Lewis called them back - they'd done their job, and keeping them around now would only wear him out faster. 

The now-trio didn't even need to look at each other to silently agree on a course of action. Vivi swung her sword subtly to the side, a motion Lewis caught out of the corner of his eye, and then all three of them charged at once. The Wraith's eyes visibly flickered between the three, and then his hand balled into a fist again and he elected to point the bolt of ichor towards Mystery. The fox stumbled and stopped, a thin coat of the stuff seeming to trap his front legs, but the other two kept moving undissuaded. Another moment and both of them had taken one of the Wraith's arms to pin to the wall. 

"Got 'im," Lewis muttered, and Vivi gave a short nod. He reached over to grab the other arm just as she released it, and then he had the Wraith swiveled around with both hands pinned behind his back. 

Vivi had her comms unit out when Lewis experienced the curious sensation of there abruptly not being enough ground for his feet anymore. He was falling backwards before he knew it, hands slipping off the Wraith's in his startled panic. Vivi noticed and tried to make a lunge for him, but her hand met only air and then he was consumed into the dark portal that had opened up in the ground. 

Lewis was expecting to fall much farther than he did before his feet hit something solid. Looking down, he realized he'd landed on the ledge near the roof of the building - the only window it had, he realized. He did his best not to look at the very long drop just below him, instead looking slightly more ahead to the continuing fight. 

They were hard to make out from here, but he could tell that Vivi, Mystery and the Wraith were all slowly circling each other. Occasionally one of his allies would step forward, and the Wraith would step back almost in unison, but for the most part the other two were focused on not falling into the same trap as Lewis. _~~Talk about embarrassing. He was racking his brains, but none of his powers were particularly useful in getting down from here.~~_

Vivi was, indeed, mostly focused on keeping her feet moving and her eyes on the Wraith. He was obviously feeling trapped, gaze darting between her and Mystery as quickly as it could. He quietly traced his teeth with his tongue, thinking- and then that same sliced smile appeared on his face and he turned back to Vivi, pausing his steps for a moment. 

"That's an animal." 

"What?" Vivi stopped as well. 

And then a bolt of black ichor slammed into her chest and she was knocked to the ground _again_. 

Mystery- well. Mystery acted as you might expect a well trained hero's dog to, when he sees his owner getting hurt, and retaliated. 

He yipped, and then a wave of force crashed into the Wraith. Unlike before, he had quite a ways to go before he hit a wall, and when he finally did he dropped to the ground instead of landing on his feet. 

_Ha!_ Lewis thought, watching the fight. _Bet you weren't expecting him to be able to oh shit, that's a **lot** of hurt. _

The remains of the ichor finally dripped off of Vivi, just in time for her to start advancing on the Wraith again. He was unmoving for a long while. When he finally put his hands under him and pushed himself up, the moonlight caught something red dripping from his face to the ground. 

He seemed to sway slightly as he stood, but whether that was because he was having trouble, or just the way he was getting up, they couldn't tell. 

And then Vivi and Mystery were yanked into the air before they could react, ropes suddenly manifesting in tight coils around their limbs. Vivi was pulled into the air by her hands, and Mystery was simply bound around his entire torso. Lewis found himself wrapped in black rope and pulled down to their level as well, only a moment after watching what happened to them, finding himself bound in the same fashion as Vivi. 

While she was pretty preoccupied with how trapped she was, Vivi also couldn't help but be interested in the sudden shift in the balance of this fight. She was starting to get a picture of just how his power was affected by hits - the amount of ichor here was something he _definitely_ didn't have access to ten seconds ago. It was enough to restrain all of them more or less completely. 

They couldn't do much more than watch, then, as the Wraith slowly paced up to them, eyes slowly scanning over them with only mild interest. Like someone picking out fruit at a grocery store. 

_I am about to die,_ Lewis realized, only a moment before the Wraith's gaze landed directly on him. 

His head swayed back and forth for a moment, a not-quite-nod, vaguely reminiscent of someone mentally debating something. 

And then his hand raised up, fingers curled but not closed into a fist. In one smooth motion he brought his arm down and closed the fist, and Lewis found himself slammed into the ground knees-first. He was suddenly forced into a kneeling position- he noticed in some distant part of his mind that it felt less like the ropes, and more like his limbs themselves were moving of their own accord- and then rapidly tied to the floor so that he couldn't move much more than his head. 

He couldn't bear to look up. All he could do was listen breathlessly to the quiet tapping of shoes on concrete. 

The tapping stopped and then was replaced with another _wham_ , and finally Lewis looked up- to notice that the Wraith had done much the same thing to Mystery. 

Now he couldn't tear his eyes away. Slowly, the Wraith paced over to the final person still hung in the air. He looked up and seemed to almost nod to himself, tracing a spot on his collarbone with one hand. 

_Please, no, not her don't hurt her please-_ Lewis mentally chanted, unable to speak. 

And Vivi was forced to the ground- but not in the same position as the others. She was pushed and pulled until she was lying on her back, every limb secured to the ground. 

The Wraith paced a little closer, and with another small wave, even more ropes wound around her right arm, enough to lift it slightly off the ground. And then they _yanked_ and Vivi did something she almost never did, something that terrified Lewis every time he heard it. She _screamed_. 

The ropes dissolved so that her arm could drop to the ground, and Vivi didn't scream again but he could hear a loud, hissed exhale. And the Wraith... he turned around and tapped his foot and a dark, swirling portal opened up on the wall. 

He stepped through, and it snapped shut in an instant, leaving them all behind. 

As soon as he was gone the ichor ropes dissolved. Mystery was first on his feet, and he bolted off the second he was up - Lewis would have yelled something at him, but he couldn't remember quite how to speak. Or how to get his legs to move, for that matter. He was frozen, staring at Vivi still reeling on the ground. 

In another few moments a snout pushed its way into his field of vision, and he zeroed in with some effort on something held in Mystery's mouth. A communicator. 

_Oh!_

As soon as he had the small device in his hands he felt more stable, enough to actually get up and stumble to Vivi's side. His words came out in a rush as soon as he connected, mind trying to keep up with both the conversation he was having and taking stock of her injuries. It seemed to just be the broken arm, plus or minus some bruises he could feel forming on his own limbs too, but that didn't mean he hadn't done something _else_ to her while he was at it, something not immediately visible. 

"We need a lift or a medic- broken bones, possibly internal injuries- no, we don't have- him." _The Wraith_ was a name he couldn't quite make himself say at the moment. 

After a little while Vivi slipped onto unconsciousness. That was better, somehow, not to see her shaking and her face screwed up in pain. He was able to sit by her side until the promised lift came to drag them back to the base. 


	7. God Called and You're Both Fired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lewis is a demon, and Arthur is an angel, and they're both trying to sway Vivi to their own side and they're _in each other's way_ and frankly it's very frustrating.   
> (written for @neneko824 on tumblr)

The pair of high schoolers watched Vivi round the corner, and as soon as she was out of sight they whirled on each other. 

“What do _you_ think you’re doing here?” Lewis growled, rising to something closer to his true height. “Your code forbids you from interfering with temptation, and you know it.” 

“ _Interfering_? Who said anything about th-that?” Arthur huffed, taking a step back as a definitely-not-natural sunbeam caught and illuminated him. “I’m t-tempting her _myself_. _You’re_ the one out of line here.” 

“What?” The line made Lewis pause for a moment, and then it clicked. “Oh, _sure_. I was here first, but _you_ get her anyway.” In response to the sunlight, a much less natural-looking light started to surround Lewis’s feet. “ _Angels_. You always think you can push us around just because you have a different color fire and can’t swear.” 

“Hey, I can swear as mu- much as I fucking want to, asshole!” Arthur huffed, letting himself rise into the air a little on invisible wings. “Just can’t b-blaspheme.” 

He blinked. “…Oh. Well _\- Whatever_. My point stands. _I got here first!_ ” 

“You th-think you have _any_ ch-chance swaying her?” He pointed down the hall at where Vivi had vanished. “Th-that’s a _good soul!_ She is _ours_.” 

“That’s an _independent_ soul. What are you offering her, a never-ending war and occasional good feelings? Don’t make me _laugh_. She doesn’t want what you’re offering.” 

“Oh, and she’ll be s _-so_ fucking interested in _you_? Yeah, r- _right_.” His angelic features started to creep out a little more, a crown-like halo manifesting around his head and the beginnings of wings glimmering in the air behind him. “M-maybe I should just take you out _here_ and b-be done with it.” 

Lewis looked him up and down. “You’ll actually do that?” 

Arthur paused for a moment, and then sighed, lowering himself back to the floor. “Tell you what. Let’s m-make a deal.” 

He actually huffed a laugh at that. “Isn’t that normally my line?” 

“Fuck off. Look- w-we can _both_ try to tempt her. Th-that’s fair, right?” 

“…hmm.” He hesitated for a moment, considering the outstretched hand. “I… guess that seems fine. Not like she’ll listen to you anyway.” 

They both ignored the burning sensation in their arms long enough to shake on it. 

Just around the corner, Vivi struggled to stifle a laugh as she listened to the end of the conversation. She couldn’t tell if these two were really bad or really good at their jobs, but this little spat was fucking _hilarious_.


	8. Power Trip pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the battle with the Wraith, Vivi and Lewis retreat back to the base to deliver the news to their overseer. In the process, they learn a few new facts about their enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> working on a rq but take this in the meantime

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised," said the overseer, sighing, and that stung more than it should have. 

"We got _really_ close!" Vivi jumped in, putting one hand on the table. Her arm had been healed by one of the attendants in the medical bay, but she was still favoring that shoulder. "We got him restrained, we just weren't- I bet if we went back, now that we know what he can do? We could beat him." 

"I can't allow that." He shook his head. "It's too dangerous and we need you for... other assignments." 

"But-" 

"We saw his face," Lewis interjected when something occurred to him. "We could probably pick him out of- or describe him, you could look him up and we could go take him out in his civilian identity." 

But the overseer shook his head. "No can do." 

Vivi looked over at Lewis and then back at the overseer. "Sounds like a solid plan to me," she said. 

"You think you're the first ones to get a good look at him? We've scoured every database we have access to - hell, we've gotten and tested blood samples! And no matter how carefully we go over them, there just... isn't a match. It's like he just _doesn't exist_." 

"But- that... can't be right. He's got to exist _somewhere_ ," Vivi said, tapping the table. "I mean- you look at how the Wraith hasn't targeted civ centers- you can't be a villain _all_ the time. You have to, like, get groceries. And if he's not raiding places to steal them, then he's gotta do business transactions with money. Stuff that would put him on the map." 

Lewis and the overseer both nodded along. Lewis jumped in to supply, "maybe he's changing his face? A-and his... DNA, I guess?" 

"It doesn't fit with the suite we have for him. He shows no signs of being able to manipulate his own form outside of the healing factor. And I doubt he's hiding a whole extra set we've never seen before. I'm telling you, the thought is good but we've been _over_ all of this. _Several times_ , even." He shook his head. "Why do you think we call him the Wraith?" 

"A ghost," Vivi said, more softly than before. "No identity, single focus, and he won't stay dead." 

That struck more of a chord with Lewis than he'd have liked to admit. "Do you think he's _actually-_?" 

He just shrugged. "Your guess is as good as ours. Better, probably. It's the best explanation we could come up with- some sort of spirit borrowing a human body. And then the nickname just stuck. Like your partner said- he behaves like a wraith. You've seen it. Powerful and bent on destruction - nothing mortal has that kind of ability." 

Lewis stood. "Whatever he is- now we've seen what he can do, we can take him down." 

"We're still gonna-" he heard Vivi mutter almost under her breath, and then she stood as well. "Yeah. Next time, we'll be ready for whatever he's got." 

He looked between the two of them. "I'm willing to approve it, but... you're _sure_ you can do this?" 

Vivi looked to Lewis, waiting for him to answer. 

"Yeah. Don't... don't worry about it. We'll have him back here within the week." 

* * *

"Hey-" Vivi said, grabbing his arm. 

He stopped, turning to give her his full attention. 

"You don't have to do this. I know- that last fight was... bad. The three of us _combined_ couldn't keep up with him. I know this matters to you, and I want to take him down too, but..." She looked him over with a concerned frown. "If you feel like this is too dangerous... I trust your judgement, alright? I don't want us walking into anything we can't handle." 

_Again_ , Lewis mentally finished her sentence. "I- I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." He almost looked away, and then added quietly, "it... means a lot." 

"I'll do whatever I need to, but I don't want anyone else getting hurt," she called as he turned away. 

_I know._ "We- last time was... we didn't know what we were doing. And we got _close_. I think next time we'll have him." He unfolded the map with a flick of his arm. "So... where do you think he went?" 

Despite his reassurances, he could still see a lingering uncertainty in Vivi's eyes as she bent over the map next to him. 


	9. End of Day Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and Lewis both work on a "groundship track," a modification on old Earth racing tracks fitted for the nimble groundships used as transportation today.  
> Lewis would like them to get along better than they currently do, to be honest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i watched like one scene of star wars and now it's the foundation for my entire aesthetic when approaching generic scifi. tiny spaceships are cool. sue me.

It was a relief to be able to pull off the bandanna serving as a mask, as Lewis came in from the not-yet-settled dust of the racetrack. He could still hear the thrumming of the groundships as they flew around the small path, and could swear he still had afterimages of their flashing blue undercarriages. 

He didn't much like races. Not watching them, not hearing them. Thankfully nobody got _too_ hurt on this one, but his job meant he'd seen plenty of bad accidents in the few years he'd been working at the track, and that just fed the small voice in the back of his mind that always insisted _it's just a matter of time_. 

There he went again. He shook his head to dispel the thought, hanging up his coat and bandanna on hooks and pressing a button to open the other door of the sort-of-airlock type structure that served as the entrance to the main building. 

Aside from a casual "hey, Arthur," for which he got little more than a disinterested hum, he ignored the other occupant of the small work room. He quietly took up his usual position, spreading the contents of his medkit out on the table so he could refill it before turning in for the night.

"Look at this. Do you see how low on bandages I am?" He didn't pay much mind to Arthur – he barely seemed to notice when he talked to him anyway. And if he minded his habit of venting into thin air about his day, he'd never mentioned it. "People keep getting hit in the shoulders because apparently safety gear means _nothing_ and they're blasting around the track at a million miles an hour with open roofs, and then _I'm_ the one having to patch them up. It's half the racers at this point! I should start charging them for the supplies!" He kicked one of the drawers to get it to pop out, revealing its stash of clean white bandages. "Maybe then they'd actually take their safety seriously."

At least he could actually see what he was doing. When he first got this job, the common room had been a lot less well built; the only source of light were the soft blue glow of recycled groundship parts, the drawers stuck constantly and were a pain to go through, and there hadn't even been proper shelving on the walls. He'd had a lot more to complain about – but then all the small annoyances had been silently fixed over the years. Which he could be weirded out by, but he had decided to just be grateful someone was listening. 

"I guess at least I get to go to bed after this, huh?" He didn't look at the linen wraps as he put them into their designated spot, instead glancing up at his silent companion. "You've probably still got a ton of work to do. Plenty of hard races today, the 'ships are probably all beat up." He leaned slightly over, trying to see what he was doing – some unidentifiable glowing piece of machinery was sitting out on the table in front of him, and he seemed to be working on it, but Lewis would be damned if he could identify what it was. "What's that you're working on now, anyway?" 

The only response he got was the continual soft _click-click-click_ as Arthur went through the motions of... whatever it was he was doing. The sounds of him repairing something was comforting white noise most of the time, even if his movements did get eerily robotic when he was working. Those were the benefits of doing something a hundred times – he probably looked about the same way when he was bandaging people up. 

The difference was that _his_ job got boring real fast, whereas he could watch Arthur work _all day_. 

His expression was almost singularly focused, eyes pinned to the machinery in front of him. Slender hands practically danced across the table, somehow finding every part he needed without him ever needing to look up. And then there were the moments where he ran into a stubborn screw or jammed part and had to strain to get it unstuck, and he leaned in and his brow furrowed and his shoulders went up... 

Some cover snapped into place and then Arthur sat back, surveying his work. Seemingly satisfied it was fixed, he then picked it up and stood, and Lewis quickly looked away before he could catch him staring. 

* * *

Not bothering to look up, Arthur silently pointed to an already-made mug of coffee on the counter next to him. Recognizing the vague motion, Lewis picked it up and took a long sip. 

"Thanks." 

"Mm." 

He'd been surprised, the first time Arthur had fixed his coffee for him. He was still new, and they'd hardly spoken, and Lewis was still in the stage where he was under the impression that would change. The coffee had only strengthened that belief, when he walked into the kitchen to discover it, and he'd been confused by it for a while. Arthur remained the same as ever, impervious to his attempts at conversation, but now with the addition of silently making him coffee in the mornings. 

That was the problem, he reflected. Arthur was _nice_. He may have disliked him for some inscrutable reason, but he still took the time to do little things like that. Making coffee, restocking him on supplies when he ran short, bringing him back food when he went out for it. He was the sort of person that made Lewis want to get to know him better, if only to know how to properly repay him for it. And then he made that impossible. 

Lewis had long since accepted that this crush was stupid and pointless, given that Arthur wanted nothing to do with him. But it was also _stubborn_. 

Lost in thought, he barely noticed when Arthur slid into the chair across from him. 

"T-talked to Vivi a- again?" 

He looked up in surprise. Was that question... directed at him...? "Uh. Yeah, sort of." 

Arthur only nodded, looking down at the papers in front of him. "Y-you should... t-take her somewhere in- in the- in the city." 

"...what?" 

"I just mean-" he tapped the table, "-y-you obviously want- want to sp-spend some time with her. Th- th- uh, here isn't ex-exactly a great place f-for that." 

"Oh. ...We... we're just friends." 

"I _know_!" He looked up for a brief moment, his expression vaguely... irritated? ...and then just as quickly looked back down at the table again. "You- you could still t-take her out. Sh-she'd appre- ap- appreciated it too. N-not a lot of opportunities for her- for her to g-get out." 

That actually wasn't a bad idea. And he _would_ really like to hang out with Vivi more. She was new here, but she seemed really fun and it would be nice to have a better friend around here. And then maybe he could stop bugging Arthur so much with his constant chattering, if he had someone else to talk to. Was _that_ why he was suggesting this all of a sudden? "Yeah, maybe. Uh, thanks for the idea." He couldn't resist a slight poke to follow that up, though. "The social advice. Totally unrelated, but when was the last time you left this building...?" 

Arthur huffed, and he genuinely couldn't tell if that was annoyed or amused. Whatever it was, he got up from the table, collecting his folder and mug. 

Lewis half turned around to call something after him as he left. "You know, if taking someone for a day trip is such a good way to get to know them... by your own logic- maybe I should take you out for one!" 

He practically locked up – it was clearly visible even from behind. 

"I- I th-think you know e- enough about me," he responded. 

Yeah, there it was. He knew the sudden burst of friendliness was too good to last. 


	10. God Called pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lewis and Arthur have a... confrontation, of sorts. Perhaps it would be better to call it a conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i sat down to work on rqs and then i blinked and id written this instead. anyway, here's hoping my formatting actually sticks around this time

"Mama! Mama, lookat!" The toddler stuck her arms in the air, pointing vaguely at something high up above them. "A- a- dove and a crow!" 

The mother followed the point, and then laughed lightly. "I think those are just pigeons, honey." 

"Oh." The toddler considered this new information for a moment, and then declared in the very serious and confident voice of a small child, "They're friends." 

She looked briefly back up to the two birds, perched so close together on the streetlamp. "Yes, I think you're right," she said absently, patting the child's head. 

* * *

"So you're _not_ going upstairs for the night?" Lewis called as he alighted on the lamp next to a similarly disguised Arthur. "You're just going to... spend the night down here as a tiny bird?" 

"I c-could ask you the- the same thing," Arthur shot back instead of responding. 

"I'm not about to take my eyes off you for that long." 

"You know wh-what? Maybe I _will_ leave." And with that, Arthur took off, headed for a taller building. 

Not about to just let him fly off, Lewis followed suit. It wasn't long before they'd reached the roof and were away from human sight, and Arthur took the opportunity to let his guise drop altogether. 

It confirmed Lewis's suspicion – Arthur wasn't particularly _strong_ , he barely felt the normal tense, almost burning effect of being so close to an unmasked angel – but it was a bit hard to feel vindicated about that when he was busy taking in the first sight of his true form. A humanoid- or, more accurately, mannequin-like- body that gave the impression of painted porcelain, an intricate crown-shaped halo that hugged his head, and, when he turned around, eight or so eyes floating in a symmetric but seemingly random pattern in front of the otherwise blank face. A pair of very real-looking feathered wings folded themselves back up as he got his footing on the roof, and Lewis couldn't help but notice flecks of black in the shimmering golden feathers, like some of them had been dipped in ink. 

He decided not to bring it up. Yeah, he was technically this guy's enemy, but he wasn't going to be an _ass_ about it. 

Instead, he decided to take his true form as well. Some small amount of satisfaction was gleaned from seeing Arthur take a good few steps back, watching with what might have been surprise on his face as Lewis grew to his _true_ height. He let the silence linger for a moment, folding his arms in a carefully casual-yet-intimidating manner. 

"So," he's the one to finally break the silence, "is this where heaven is now? Top of an apartment building? It isn't quite how I remember." 

"Wh- oh, r-right. N-no, this is just... j-just, a normal roof." His voice hadn't actually changed all that much – which, to be fair, Lewis's didn't either, but the stammer felt a lot more _incongruous_ , when it was coming from an actual visible angel. 

Again. Wasn't going to be an ass about it. But his new nemesis was turning out to be very... _interesting_. 

"So you're... _not_ going back... upstairs." 

He hesitated, almost taking a step back. He was a lot less expressive in this form, but it was still easy to see how he tensed at that. "N- like you s-said. C-can't leave you- leave- you alone." 

It was a lame excuse, but then again, it was also that when _he'd_ said it. He wasn't about to challenge him and risk inviting questions about his own arrangements. "...Well." 

"S-so." 

"Yes." His gaze swept the horizon, mostly just to avoid the burning intensity of Arthur's undivided focus. He really didn't know what to do here – he'd been planning to... just find somewhere quiet to hang out until morning. Or follow Vivi home in disguise, but that plan had sort of gone out the window when he lost track of her after school. Now he couldn't do either, because this _stupid angel_ wasn't leaving. "Shall we just sit here and stare at each other? Since apparently neither of us can be trusted?" 

He was expecting Arthur to protest at the implication that he, an _angel_ , wasn't trustworthy, but he didn't say anything to that. Instead- "I can go s-somewhere else." 

Lewis barely managed to stop his surprise from showing on his face. He _definitely_ wasn't expecting him to cave that fast, he thought the back-and-forth would continue for a while. Not that he minded. They probably both wanted to be somewhere else. But it was... unbefitting of a servant of Heaven to acquiesce to demons that quickly, for _anything_. Even after his exile, that lesson was still burned into his brain. 

"No, I'll go." He didn't know what else to say. It just didn't feel right for him to win this. 

* * *

He had a while to consider things again once he'd relocated to a different roof. With a clear head this time, not busy trying to one-up his opponent. 

Maybe he should change tacks. Considering everything he'd learned about Arthur... it probably wouldn't be so hard, not too _terribly_ difficult... to make _him_ fall. He was obviously already on thin ice as it was, how much more pushing would it take? Before he decided that maybe Heaven was wrong, and the whole system was busted and he wanted no part of it – or, alternatively, to get him to do something that made one of his overseers sit up and take notice, and realize he was due to be kicked out. It would certainly be easier than fighting over Vivi with him. 

There was a small, vindictive part of him that took some pleasure from the idea of pushing another angel to fall. And another part that protested against it, remembering how much it hurt to be forced to do that. 

But either way, regardless of which part he listened to, this was definitely the easier path. And... 

...no, that was all. It was easier. And would net him a better reward, in the long run, probably. 


	11. Asaya and Beyond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lewis and Vivi travel the universe in a small spaceship. It's rather fragile, owing to its size, and one day they're caught in something too much for the ship to handle and are forced to make an emergency detour to the Asaya outpost, under the control of the Eviriyan empire. 
> 
> (written for @nenekokun)

Lewis leans against a wall, and Vivi follows suit. The cold metal against his thin shirt makes him shiver a little.

"Eight days," Vivi says, bitter resignation in her voice. "Is everyone getting caught in solar storms or what?"

"Guess we just showed up at a bad time," Lewis comments, trying to sound positive. He isn't happy about the wait time either, but there's not much either of them can do about it. The mechanics at this place were obviously spread pretty thin already, and their dinky little privately owned ship wasn't exactly high on the list of priorities. For anyone that wasn't them, anyway.

"Hope Mystery'll hold up okay."

Lewis snorted. "He'll be fine. He's probably having the time of his life, playing pranks on whoever walks onto the ship." That AI acted all regal and official, but he had a mean streak, and he'd be delighted to get to flex his power in the ship over the clueless people trying to do maintenance on it.

They stood in silence for a while. The metal wall was starting to warm up against Lewis's back.

"How long do you think it'll take them to fix it once they start?"

"I'm not sure, that thing was pretty shot, wasn't it?" He kicked the floor idly, musing. "How much work do they need to do?"

"Wh-what kind of engine was it?" A third voice made them both jump.

They both turn to see an Eviriyan standing next to them. Orange plates of chitin framed more delicate facial features, and six eyes – two large ones where a human's would be, and two sets of smaller ones side-by-side underneath those – blinked back at them. He was wearing what looked like some form of ship uniform, but it was impossible to tell what kind because it was rather ratty and dusted with smoke and ash.

"Uh, no idea," Vivi answered his question. "It was... a small one? The kind that's usually two of them?"

"I can probably f-fix it for- for you," he says, leaning on the wall next to them-

Before they can talk any more, there's a loud commotion from down the hall, where the larger main rooms of this level are. Shouting and what sounds like... _sirens?_ And maybe a muffled voice over the intercom.

The stranger looks back over his shoulder, expression shifting. "Um. Maybe s-somewhere that's n-not here?"

"What's going _on_ down there?" Lewis leans over, trying to see past him into the room. Unfortunately, there's a sharp turn in the hallway that prevents him from looking down it all the way.

"Sure!" Vivi's still chipper, apparently unconcerned by whatever is going on. "Hey, we could actually just head to the ship, it's docked not far from here and then you'd know if you could actually fix it?"

Lewis is still a bit concerned about the commotion, but he's not about to get left behind, so he keeps pace with Vivi as they walk back to the bay.

* * *

"To be honest, we're not as great about repairing this thing as we should be, so I have no idea what state it's in," Vivi was saying.

"'s fine," was the stranger's easy response as he leaned further into the twisted mechanical mess that was their engines. " _So-o_... what br-brings you here?"

"Necessity. Fried one of our engines, this was the closest place we could make it to."

Lewis was only half listening to the conversation, mostly watching the station's news broadcast on his tablet. Somebody had broken out of the station's small jail, and the authorities were warning everyone to keep an eye out.

The stranger leaned back slightly to grab something out of the large toolbox he'd dug out of a nearby closet. "Sh-shouldn't need to replace it," he commented, "j-just- it's dented, b-but not cracked."

Vivi said something in response, but Lewis didn't hear it. He was too busy staring at the screen, where they were showing a still photograph of the escapee. They were instantly recognizable as the person currently elbow-deep in their engine.

He glanced back up at him, just to make sure. There was no mistaking it – the shape of the chitinous plates unusually thin for an adult Eviriyan, the striped orange coloring, the heterochromatic grey-and-gold eyes... Lewis looked away and attempted to catch Vivi's eye, but she was paying no attention to him.

Lewis spent the next however-long-it-took-him-to-work debating what to do. He couldn't outright _call him out_ for being the escapee, because who knew what he was capable of- but how did he tell Vivi without also letting him know he knew?

After what felt like both an eternity and far too short, the stranger leaned back and closed the hatch to the engine with a definite sense of finality. "Right, that sh-should be- be good now."

"Thank you _so_ much!" Vivi was too cheery, Lewis thought, for the situation. "So, what do we owe you?"

"Uh-" he hesitated for a moment, looking back at the ship. "C-could I... get a lift, m-maybe?"

"Oh! Uh, depends- where-"

"No," Lewis jumped in.

Both of them looked back at him, identical expressions of surprise and confusion on their faces.

"Kinda rude, Lew," Vivi was the first to speak. "How come?"

"You're a criminal," he said, making firm eye contact with the stranger.

The two larger eyes blinked. "...what?"

"I heard all about it while you were _fixing_ our engine. You broke out of the jail!"

This time all six eyes blinked in unison. "Oh, r-right."

"Wait, what, _seriously_?" Vivi looked between the two of them. "But you were-"

"Look, I- I know- b-but-" he held his hands up. "I- I- see- l-listen, I'm not... I d-don't th-th-think... I'm... dangerous? I don't want to hurt- I just- j-just... really need to- to get out of here."

That all sounded true – and Lewis would know if he was lying. But- " _why_? What did you do in the first place?"

"I... don't know. Look, I don't... r-really... remember... why I was th-there. Or... any- anything." Slowly he eased back until he was sitting against the ship, hands still sort of raised. "I just woke up in th-there and... look, they were taking me... s- _somewhere_ , and I needed to... to... just _get out_ , al- alright? I c-can't tell you why- cause- I don't _know_."

Once again, everything he was saying rang true. But it _couldn't_ be right- why would they hold an amnesiac hostage in the first place? What did it matter at that point- unless they _really_ needed to keep him locked up...

"Lewis," Vivi was saying, and he realized she'd called his name a few times. He looked up at her, and she continued. "Is all of that true?"

"Uh. I... I think... so?"

"You 'think' so?"

He looked back at the stranger. "No, it... it is."

"Well, in that case..." Vivi looked back as well.

"Hey, your first decision was to help some random strangers out with their ship. And, uh, I don't think you were planning to ask us for a ride when you did that. That's a plus in my book!"

"Vivi, we are _not_ taking him with us. That's ridiculous."

"Oh, you're right, what am I thinking?" She pushed off the wall she'd been leaning against, and walked over to the ship door. "One more... test." She went through the slightly arduous process of unlocking and opening the door, and then hopped inside. "Mystery, engine check!"

" _All operating at full capacity, no flaws detected._ " The AI sounded distinctly pleased. " _Give the mechanic my regards._ "

"Tell him yourself!" Vivi looked back over her shoulder and waved to the stranger. He blinked, obviously surprised, but obediently stood and followed her inside.

" _Vivi_ ," Lewis protested again, but followed along as well.

The interior of the ship was cramped for Lewis's frame, but annoyingly, the stranger seemed untroubled by the small space. He gave the habitable space a quick look around – there wasn't much to see – and then turned his attention back to Vivi.

"Are you really...?" he asked, hesitant like he was afraid of changing her mind.

"Sure, why not?" She shrugged. "Look, things break kind of on the reg around here, and we could use someone on hand who knows how to fix 'em. Plus, you seem nice, and I wanna help you out." Without breaking eye contact with him, the tone of her voice changed slightly, a little louder and more pointed. "And Lewis, I'm the captain here, so what I say goes. You're gonna have to live with it."

The stranger looked over at him. "I- uh, I'm s-sorry about this."

"Oh!" He hadn't been expecting the apology. This was Vivi's fault more than anything. It did put a few more points in his favor, though. "Ah, don't worry about it. She's right, you don't... seem all that bad. I don't think you're dangerous." He seemed to relax at that.

"So welcome aboard!" Vivi gave him a thumbs-up. "Uh- you got a name?"

He hesitated for a moment. "...Arthur?"

"Arthur, question mark?"

"You don't actually remember, do you?" Lewis identified the source of the confusion.

He shrugged. "Th-that's, uh, what the guards c-called- called me."

"Good enough! Arthur," Vivi turned, heading towards the cockpit of the ship, "we should take off- unless, uh, you have anything you need to grab, but I doubt it."

* * *

Ten or so lightyears away, behind a mask, lips curled into a scowl and six eyes narrowed, as emerald-green chitin-plated hands danced over a holographic screen. The King of the Eviriyan empire flipped through data on a tablet, analyzing all available data on the Asaya outpost.

"I am a strategist, first and foremost. You know this, yes?" His voice was cold, the question pointed at the outpost overseer standing by.

"Of course."

"Then do not doubt my word. I am _disappointed_ in you. This failure is... _impressive_." He turned, pausing his reading on the photo of the escaped convict. "You were _warned!_ That _prince_ -" the title was spat with disgust- "is a sneaky, tricky _bastard_ , and to weaken security on him was to _guarantee_ his escape."

"With the greatest respect, my _liege_ -" the formal title still obviously felt unnatural. "He remembers _nothing_. We did not- he did not seem able to, or aware he _should_ run-"

"Do you listen to _nothing?_ " the king hissed. "He does not need to _know_. He runs because it is in his _nature_ , and if you do not want him to escape you must _pin him down._ " He stood to his full height, easily towering over the overseer. "Now tell me. Have you learned from your mistake? Would you like to return yourself to my good graces?"

There was hesitance, but only for a moment. No matter how wrong it felt to submit to the king, he was, well, very _tall_ and convincing in everything he said and frankly terrifying to stand in front of. It was easy to see how he'd garnered support for seizing the throne. "Yes, my liege."

"I see fit, then, given your... prior records, to give you one more chance. You have access to all data on your outpost, and more knowledge of the comings and goings within than my... more capable workers. You will find the prince, and deliver him _directly_ to this palace. The cost is irrelevant. Be that in money, assets, or lives. Do I _make myself clear?"_

"Crystal." The overseer found himself kneeling without really meaning to, wanting to get that pointed gaze off of him as much as possible.

"Then get out of my sight. And _do not return_ unless it is with that _weasel_ in tow."


	12. The Seer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a tower far away from the rest of the world, where people only visit out of necessity.

The gryphon landed on the soft grass without a sound. Its clawed front legs tore light marks into the earth, as it pranced forward a few steps. Lewis slid off its side, not looking at the ground but rather upwards at the structure in front of him. 

He hadn't really had time to appreciate the gate the first time he'd been here. But now he noticed that it was made of stone, carved into intricate patterns, and covered in a thin carpet of moss. He could see a large bell hanging from the top of it, that would ring every time the gate was opened, alerting the tower ahead that someone was coming.

The tower he couldn't see from here, but on his way in, he'd gotten a glimpse of it. Enough to know which way to go once he was through the gate.

Despite its old, heavy look, the gate swung open at a light touch, sending the bell tolling in turn. He glanced back over his shoulder, but his gryphon was shying away, ears folded tightly back and wings slightly raised in a display of caution. What exactly unnerved the animals about this place, he wasn't sure, but they couldn't get their mounts to come with them last time either.

He trusted it to stay put, and went forward on his own.

Dappled sunlight shone in from above, gently illuminating the remains of what had once been a path. He wasn't _technically_ supposed to be here, and he didn't think anyone would be too happy if they found out, but he hadn't been exactly _forbidden_ from returning either. And he hadn't been able to get this place out of his head. Well, it wasn't exactly like there was much security around here, he'd figured. As long as he didn't tell anyone about the repeat visit, they didn't have to know.

It wasn't much longer before he took one more step and the trees suddenly spread out before him, revealing a large clearing. Plenty of things still grew here, a vast natural-looking garden that ringed the whole area, save for a small gap to finish the path through. In the center stood a tower, made of the same worked stone as the gate, and just as covered in plant life. Now that he was here alone, the atmosphere of the place felt much different. Somber, serene... he'd be tempted to call it _abandoned_ if he didn't know better.

At first his hand hovered over the door handle- the first time, they'd just gone in- but then he thought again, and decided to knock.

There was no response from inside, and he wasn't sure what to make of that.

"May I come in?" he tried calling.

There was another moment of silence, but then a soft voice from the other side of the door. "Of course." It sounded _confused_ more than anything, and his heart sank. Didn't anyone ever knock?

The inside of the tower hadn't changed much. It still made him shiver as the temperature dropped abruptly, and it was still the same bare stone, undecorated aside from the circle etched into the floor that created a slight dip. On the edge of the circle, not quite across from the door, was knelt the person he'd come to see. A slight, pale young man wearing simple, finely-made, but faded clothes. Orange-blond hair hung almost to his shoulders, clean but left limp and unstyled. Much of his face was covered by an eyeless stone mask, only his mouth exposed.

He looked so very small, sitting there, facing blankly forward and unable to even see him. Small and fragile and distant. Why were they all so afraid of him?

Yes, it had been unnerving, watching him take the mask off and stare at the object they'd placed in front of him, and carefully detail every moment of its future. But it was only _sight_. Did it really warrant all these precautions?

“Hey,” he said to announce his presence.

The Seer’s head tipped back in response to the sound. His voice was the same as ever, quiet and slightly scratchy. “Oh, s-sir Lewis! How- how, uh... c-can I help you?”

"I just came to see you."

"R-right. Not much else, uh, h-here. So, another prophecy? So- so s-soon?"

He couldn't help but frown as he sat down across from him. "No, I mean- I don't need anything, I just... wanted to talk."

There was a pause, the Seer's mouth hanging slightly open like he wanted to respond but wasn't sure how. "I... don't understand."

He resisted the urge to wince. His suspicions about the conditions of the Seer's life had been right, it seemed. "Uh- hey, I brought you something!" Honestly, he'd forgotten about the gift until now, too preoccupied with his thoughts. He slipped the small bag off his shoulder and held it out in front of him. And then remembered that there was no way he could see what he was doing, and huffed a small laugh to himself. Gently he reached out and picked up one of the Seer's hands, guiding it to the box.

"Oh!" Once he understood, the Seer was quick to reach out and take the offered gift, checking it over with his hands. "Uh, a... a b-box. Neat."

The joke actually got a laugh out of Lewis. "There's food inside! You open- there's a clasp, here-" he reached over again to show him.

When he lifted the lid, the smell of seasoned meat and grilled vegetables wafted out, and despite the mask he could see a definite change in his expression. There was a long moment of silence.

"Did... did the king ask you to- to do th-this?"

"No, I just thought, uh, I'm not sure how much food you've got here- or cooked stuff, anyway, and," he waved a hand, rubbing the back of his neck, "we had some leftovers- my family has a restaurant- and I figured I'd share some? We've got no room- and no reason to keep them- but all that stuff should keep for a few days, more if you've got someplace cold to put them."

Slowly, the Seer closed the box again, and wrapped his arms around it, holding it a bit more tightly.

"You sh-shouldn't be here."

"Little late for that."

"Isn't there... th-there... anything I can do f-for you?"

_Don't worry about it_ was the first answer that came to Lewis's lips, but he paused and rethought. "What's your name?"

He exhaled sharply. "Uh- it- Arthur. You... c-can call me Arthur."

"Well, Arthur," he stood slowly, "do you mind me coming around again sometime?"

"... _someone_ will."

Lewis decided to take that as a _no, I don't_. "I'll deal with that when I get to it. For now, though, uh- Sorrel'll get upset if I wait too long, so I think I'd better get going now."

"Sorrel?"

"My gryphon! Maybe sometime if I can get her to come in, you can meet her. She's, uh, not much of a fan of your tower, though."

"Most ani- animals aren't."

Lewis paused on his way out the door, looking back. For a moment, he debated staying a while, but thought better of it in the end. "I'm... sure she'll get used to it. See you around, Arthur."

The briefest flicker of a smile flashed across his face. "'bye, Lewis." 


	13. A Royal Inconvenience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The best-laid plans of mice and men, et cetera, et cetera. Lewis has to admit, this is a novel way for things to go wrong. Not because of an obvious _problem_ , but because their whole idea no longer felt right. 
> 
> He didn't _want_ to give the Crow Prince back, no matter how much the royal family offered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for implied/referenced abuse  
> this is an old draft i never really did anything with, so if it feels a little disjointed or weird, it's 'cause it's not. finished. in the traditional sense. but i still think it's a neat au and im nnnnnever coming back to it so here you go anyway
> 
> now i hear you asking. is there any reason for arthur to be a bird man? and the answer to that question is of course not. it's just there.

The prince was obviously battered. His wings, beautiful from a distance, were a sorry sight up close – uncared for, damaged and ill-groomed. The smaller down feathers were bent and snapped and completely _missing_ in some places, and the larger flight feathers, while seemingly intact, were also frayed and folded enough that they couldn't be flightworthy. His body was in a similarly bad state – dozens of bruises peppered his arms and face and what little he could see of his chest. Most notable was the fresh-looking, ring-shaped bruise around his neck, the severity of which gave Lewis a pretty good idea where it had come from. 

There was also a large vertical gash on the side of his face that he had a less clear idea for.

Lewis sighed, then turned to call over his shoulder. “Vivi, couldn’t you have at least _tried_ to be careful?”

“Hmm?” she called in response. “Careful with what?”

“I mean,” he lifted the captive’s chin to check for any more damage, “I know he’s not, you know, our _guest_ or anything, but you could have at least _tried_ not to hurt him _too_ much. I think if we return him in a bad condition we might have some… _problems_ with negotiating.” Brushing a few strands of golden hair out of the way to inspect the cut, he added, “I gave you that cloth, why didn’t you use that?”

“I… did? I don’t know what you’re… talking…” she trailed off as she entered the room, taking in the sight.

“I’m talking about _this_ ,” he snapped, gesturing at the unconscious prince.

She knelt next to him, frowning. “…I didn’t do that? I think it must have been a- an accident, or- I _didn’t_ do that.”

Lewis just rolled his eyes. “Bruises like these don’t just _happen_ , Vi. If you can tell me how someone could _accidentally_ get _choked out_ …”

“I used the cloth! I really don’t know what happened!” She stood, still giving a confused squint to the prince. “I’ll ask- maybe Mystery had something to do with it.”

“Whatever you say, Vivi."

* * *

The prince was just staring at the food, looking... _confused?_

Lewis braced himself for a comment about the quality or a “what, that’s it?” He was already readying a clipped response that he’d just have to get used to foraging and rations, but-

“D-did you, uh,” he says finally, voice hesitant and scratchy, “d-d-did you mean to give me th-this much?”

Lewis frowned and looked over into his bowl. It was the same amount he’d given everyone else – which, in hindsight, he probably should’ve cut his portion a little, but he didn’t want to _starve_ the guy. But equal portions or no, it was... a pretty regular-sized bowl of stew, maybe a little on the small side. He definitely wouldn’t have expected a _prince_ to call it _too much_.

“...yes?” he said finally, wondering if this was the setup to some kind of snide joke.

But all Arthur responded with was “are you... _sure_?”

“What, do you want me to _take some back_?”

He flinched, wings flaring, gripping the bowl a little tighter. “N-no, that’s not- I just-“ he stumbled over his words in an increasingly quiet voice. “Wh-why are you... g-giving me _any_? I th-thought I was your p-pr- _prisoner_.”

Lewis squinted at him, wondering... and then it clicked. He must have heard plenty of grimly embellished stories about the kind of people who might kidnap him. Hell, he was probably raised on stories of rank, damp dungeons and moldy bread, sheltered enough that he genuinely believed that everyone outside the palace walls was like that.

(How ironic that the worst conditions for prisoners were right under Prince Arthur’s roof. While he’s heard fairy tales about jealous rival kingdoms, Lewis had grown up hearing all-too-real horror stories of the conditions in the royal dungeons.)

“We’re not interested in _torturing_ you,” he said finally, choosing his words carefully. “And we have plenty of food, so it only makes sense to give you some. Especially if we might not be able to spare any later. Do you follow?”

“N- uh...” his wings shifted higher, trying to cover his face as he cowered slightly from his gaze. “Wh-whatever you s-s-say...?”

Lewis sighed and turned away. He’d revisit this later. Maybe. “Just eat the stew.”

* * *

Lewis couldn’t help but take another look at the prince, now that he was asleep and not actively trying to get away from him. The bruises were starting to heal, which was good. With any luck they’d be gone before they made the trade, and the king and queen would never know what had befallen their precious child.

_Oh, what a terrible fate,_ he mocked in his head. _A few bruises and_... but he couldn’t really finish the thought before remembering that it _wasn’t_ just a few bruises and cuts. It looked like he’d been choked, dragged and beaten, with injuries that would make _any_ parent – hell, _anyone_ invested in his safety – worried sick if they saw it.

And they _still_ didn’t know for sure how he’d gotten them, with Vivi swearing up and down that it _couldn’t_ have been from her or Mystery. That was a problem less because of the Plan and more because it just... bugged him, not knowing what had happened there. He preferred having everything accounted for, and here was this big question mark in the middle of things.

* * *

The prince had gotten a lot less skittish over the past week or so, or at least it seemed that way to Lewis. While before he’d been mostly focused on staying as far away from the rest of them as it was possible to in chains, only speaking when spoken to and sometimes not even then, now he seemed a lot more relaxed. Maybe not _comfortable,_ but he didn’t flinch from every sound, and occasionally they could actually... _chat_ with him, exchanging casual conversation and banter like...

...like he was just another person in the group.

If this was a ploy to get out, either he was _really_ playing the long game, or he was just bad at it. He’d never asked to be released from his chains, nor for any sort of special privileges; he still didn’t put up a fight no matter what they did with him.

He was a model hostage. It was actually kind of disturbing.

Had he had _practice_ with this? Lewis had never heard about the prince being kidnapped, but maybe they just kept it quiet... How else was he to justify the way Arthur seemed so accustomed to being locked up and ordered around? Even if he was just _trying_ to seem sympathetic, if it was just an act to get on their good side, Lewis would have thought he’d balk _some_ at the idea of being kept in chains and unable to move unless someone specifically wanted him to. But the way he acted, it was like it was, at most, an occasional mild inconvenience. Like he was _used_ to it.

* * *

“I think...” Lewis fiddled with his sleeve, looking away, “I think we should let Arthur go.”

“I... _what_?”

“Not- entirely! Just... out of those chains.” At least it wasn’t an outright _no, what the hell are you thinking_. “I can watch him! But I really don’t think he’s going anywhere.”

* * *

Arthur stood slowly, stretching his wings to their full length now that he could properly move them. Lewis couldn’t help but wince, looking away.

“Is... something wrong?” he heard him say.

“Sorry- it’s just, your wings are...” he hesitated before finally admitting, “they’re... kind of hard to look at. They’re just really beat up.”

When he looked back up, getting no response, he saw Arthur curiously examining one of his own wings. He carefully combed out some of the bent feathers, frowning.

“I... don’t know what you’re talking about,” he finally admitted. "I mean, they could use a cleaning, but... they're not _that_ bad."

"Not _that_ bad? They're- they're a _mess_! They’re... why are they... _uneven_?”

It was true. He’d never noticed it before, with the wings folded and difficult to compare, but with them extended to their full length, it was hard not to see that the left one was shorter than the right, with a noticeable bit missing from the top of it.

Arthur crossed his arms and curled his wings protectively around then, frowning. “Look- it’s- why do _you_ care?” he snapped, taking on a defensive tone.

“I’m just curious, is all.” He held up his hands, trying to calm him down.

“It’s-” for a brief moment, his wings flared out in a show of aggression, but then he sighed and folded them back again, looking away. “-it was my fault. I just... did somethin’ stupid and the...” he shuffled his feet slightly, shoulders hunched. “The last joint on... the one...”

Lewis winced sympathetically, already knowing where this was headed. “That... must’ve been a pretty bad accident.”

Arthur seemed to relax slightly, and he nodded. “It... yeah.”

* * *

They sat in silence for a while, as Lewis and Vivi combed through his feathers, both taking care to be as gentle as possible.

Lewis could feel Arthur relaxing as he worked, but whether it was because he was relaxed by the feeling, or he was just getting more reassured that Lewis wasn’t going to hurt him, he wasn’t sure.

The wings would be stunning, Lewis couldn’t help but think to himself as he worked, if anyone had bothered to take care of them. The jet-black feathers seemed almost _iridescent_ when they were clean and folded flat, and even with small missing pieces here and there, the effect of them all together was _beautiful_.

Finally he’d worked his way down to the end of the left, and found something there that made him pause. The missing piece of the end of the wing, the one Arthur had _sworn_ was an accident... looking at it, there was no way it was accidental at all. It _couldn’t_ have been self-inflicted, the cut was far too clean, too _precise_.

“What actually happened here?” he asked softly, tracing the scar with a finger. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vivi look up, and quietly lean back to see what he was talking about.

“I _told_ you,” Arthur said stiffly. “I did s-somethin’ stupid an’ lost it.”

“But that’s not all of it, is it?” This time it was Vivi who spoke up, letting go of the right wing so she could move closer to where Lewis was examining the scar. “No way this is an accident. You’re not telling us something. ”

“I don’t... I still d-don’t understand why you c- _care_.”

Vivi put a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, pulling him closer. “Someone hurt you, didn’t they? Of course we care.”

After a moment of hesitation, Lewis added, “if you really don’t want to tell us... we’ll drop it. But...”

“I... I’ll t-tell you.” He didn’t sound hesitant in the way that he really didn’t want to, just in his sore-subject way. “It was... wh-when I was... little. I tr-tried to... to escape. Run away. I... I c-couldn’t do it... didn’t make it, a-a-and...”

Lewis placed a hand on Arthur’s shoulder again, trying to be comforting. He took a deep breath before continuing. “It was... wasn’t a p-punishment. It w-was just... t-to, to st-stop me from... trying again. But they...” he pulled his knees up to his chest. “They...”

“It’s okay,” Lewis said, letting go of his wing to wrap his arm around his chest. “You can stop. It’s okay.” He put the other arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. “I... god, I’m so, _so sorry_.”

Vivi hesitated a moment, and then ducked under his wing so she could hug him from the front. “That’s... _awful_ ,” she murmured into his hair, running her other hand through it.

Arthur finally started crying then, almost soundlessly, tucked between the two others. All Lewis and Vivi could do was hold him as tight as they could, giving a silent reassurance that they were still with him.

After a long while – nobody was really paying attention to time – Vivi spoke up again without lifting her head. “Never again,” she said, in her most commanding, serious voice. “As long as- _either_ of us- are still breathing... you are _never_ going back there.”


	14. I Feel Like I Don't Say it Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vivi and Arthur are chasing memories, flying all around the planet and farther in search of Vivi's lost past and the only clue to it they have. But sometimes Vivi likes to stop and appreciate what she has now, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (written for Anon on Tumblr)

Vivi listens to the steady beeping and tapping going on next to her, resolutely refusing to open her eyes and look. The beeps are the ever-present sounds of their ship, she knows, status updates and warnings and various sensors she never bothered to learn. Maybe she knew what they all meant, once, but it’s left her head now, and the melodic chiming is nothing more than white noise.

The tapping is Arthur, who is somehow still up despite the fact that she’s sure it must be late even for _him_. If she hadn’t just woken up from an hours-long nap, she would probably be dragging him to their blanket-nest right now so they could both go to _sleep_ already, damnit. As it is, she has little interest in sleeping any more, so she’s content to listen to the sounds of him typing away on the dashboard. She knows what he’s working on - it’s the same thing he’s always doing. Hunting for clues.

Clues about her. About _Lewis_ , a name that’s been rattling around in her skull ever since she woke up on this stupid fucking ship, a person she hardly remembers and that he’s never met, but that he continues to search for even without her, just because he feels like he owes her-

No, she reminds herself, that isn’t fair to her and it isn’t fair to Arthur, either. It’s not about _owing_ anyone anything- well, maybe it was at first, but she’s sure that’s long gone now. He’s doing this because he loves her, and he wants to help, and this is their only shot right now at stopping her memory loss and constant headaches. And she’d be digging through old records right alongside him if it didn’t feel like dragging her brain over hot coals.

They’re getting close, Arthur says, they’re on this guy’s tail and they just need to follow the records to wherever he’s living now. And the prospect of finding someone who _knows_ her, who can help them figure out her past, excites her - but she’s also a little... _nervous_ , maybe. Her dim memories insist that this person was- is? - a comforting presence, but she doesn’t know if she can trust them about it. What if he’s actually awful? What if he’s the one that _did this_ to her in the first place?

What if he insists that she’ll have to stay with him, and forces the ship and Arthur to- to _abandon_ her? And what if when she gets her memories back, something changes so drastically that she _agrees_?

Most of her knows she’s being entirely irrational, but to be honest, things have been going so utterly terribly since she woke up here, she wouldn’t exactly be surprised if she turned out to be right. But she also isn’t quite ready to say _stop, let’s just forget about all this, I’m actually fine with not knowing_.

So for right now, she lays in the blanket pile that serves as a bed, and she opens her eyes and looks over at the source of the tapping noise.

Arthur’s bathed in cold blue light, frowning at something on one of several holographic screens flickering in front of him. The same light glints off metal, making a mini-lightshow on the roof as his hands dance over the keyboard. Pause, click something a few times, and back to typing. Her eyes trail up to watch his, half-squinting and mostly cast in shadow. He looks tired - she was right about the time.

“Hey, Arthur?” she decides to call, wincing at how her voice cracks.

The typing stops abruptly, and his head twitches to look at her, points of bright green light joining the haze of blue. “Oh, s-sorry, I d-didn’t realize you were up- is- is it too bright? I’ll b-be done in a- in a minute-”

“I love you.”

His voice stops just as suddenly, and he blinks at her a few times.

“I feel like I don’t say it enough.”

A rare smile spreads across his face, gentle and warm and genuine. “I... love you too.”


End file.
